Study: Cannabis makes you more sensitive to false memories

People who consume cannabis are more susceptible to false memories, according to a study published on February 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. According to the authors, the study’s findings could have «implications for law enforcement, legal professionals, and policymakers regarding the treatment of witnesses and suspects under the influence of cannabis and the validity of their statements.».

The researchers used three different methods in the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, including «associative word lists and two disinformation tasks using virtual reality.».

The Cannabis affects memory. The creation of false memories was primarily limited to the acute intoxication phase, and cannabis appeared to «increase the likelihood of false memories, with a decrease in the strength of the association between an event and a test item.»

Elizabeth Loftus, one of the study's co-authors, has suggested that the study’s findings could lead to people under the influence of cannabis being considered «vulnerable» witnesses. In an interview, Loftus explained that law enforcement «must pay special attention» to vulnerable witnesses, particularly children and people with intellectual disabilities.

Lilian Kloft, a graduate student in the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and the study’s lead author, said that people under the influence of cannabis «are at the highest risk of false memories regarding events or details that are incorrectly linked to the original event« and exhibit a positive bias when they are uncertain about their memory, which makes them »a sort of random and unreliable responder.”.

Kloft said that more research on other drugs and drug combinations is «urgently needed.».